Warranties? Worth it?

[Adam Perry]

I'm planning on getting this camera from Circuit City. With a coupon I can get it for 871 bucks. They offer a 2 year warranty for 180 dollars. That seems steep for me. Is it worth it? Do these cameras usually break? I'd love the peace of mind, but that just sounds outrageously expensive. Wish I could find a place that sold the camera for that price and had a decent warranty.

[Gavin Ouckama]

I purchased mine from B&H and got a 4 year for $100. Mind you I paid $1100 for the HV20 too ...

This is my first video carmera purchase unfortunately, so I can not comment on the abuse or longevity of these units in general. From the general "feel" I have read on newsgroups however, it seems to be a common practice to purchase extended warranties. Especially for units over $1000.

[Adam Perry]

well i just bought it for 871 and will pick it up in store. I can still add the warranty, but I doubt if I will. Personally, I doubt i'll even have it for 4 years. ill probably sell it in 2 when the hv40 comes out with a 35mm lens adapter already built on :)

[Pete Bauer]

Extended warranties, along with their pro's and con's, have been discussed a number of times in various threads. A quick search of DVinfo finds discussions like these:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=82286
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=60545
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=34996

That's a good start but Search will find more info if these threads don't quite fill the bill for you.

[Adam Perry]

yeah, i saw those. I'm asking more specifically about the HV20 though.

[Mike Dulay]

Wow, 180 is pretty steep. Because the camera is so new and above $1k I bought a Mack warranty from B&H. The Mack Cam FAQ says the warranty applies even if purchased from another retailer. Normally I wouldn't buy the extended warranty but at $70 (sub-$1.5k warranty) it wasn't that bad for an extra two years on top of the manufacturer's. I tend to keep my cameras for as long as they work though.

[Pete Bauer]

Originally Posted by Adam Perry

yeah, i saw those. I'm asking more specifically about the HV20 though.

The principles and advice are the same as always: if you can afford the $180 now, but anticipate it to be catastrophic to you if a failure covered by the extended warranty occurs beyond one year from purchase, then it might be worth it to you. Otherwise, the odds are the seller of an extended warranty comes out ahead, not the consumer.

[Adam Perry]

alright, sorry.

[Joe Busch]

Canon has always done my repairs for free... I don't see a real need for a warranty...

They even pay return shipping...

I sent in an Elura 2 MC in 2006 well after it had passed any warranty we may have had and they repaired and shipped it back within 2 weeks with no charge. Then I sent in my HV10 (a week after I bought it, pretty sure it was water through the microphone that damaged it) and I got it back within a week... again return shipping covered...

[Chris Barcellos]

Camera has a 1 year warranty already. So question is what are you paying for with the additional $180.00. It seems to me if you are going to experience issues, it will be within a year, if you use it heavily... I bought this camera, first time for me to buy a Canon, because I have always had concerns about tape drive issues on Canon. My Sony's have been rock solid.

So far, this camera has been great, and makes a spectacular image. And at the prices you are talking about, the camera really becomes "disposable" after extended use for our purposes, when you compare it to the CanonA1, and Sony higher end HDV cams.

[Adam Perry]

thanks chris, that's kinda what i hoped to hear. if anyone is interested in getting the camera for $871 just go here-

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If you are a AAA member they will email you a 10% off coupon. Apply that to 967 and you have a pretty sweet deal!

[Steven Cowie]

I wouldnt normally lose sleep ignoring extended warranties on any other sort of electronic items.

Effectively the warranty sellers are asking you to bet on a unit failure at the stage in its lifespan where its statistically least likely to happen i.e. the mid point - AFTER infant mortality shake outs (which will have been covered by manufacturers warranty) and BEFORE the wear out phase where failures begin to climb rapidly again (by which stage you can be sure all extended warranties will have expired).

A good 'new for old' replacement insurance policy against accidental damage is usually a far better investment than extended warranties because thats a more likely fate for a product in middle of its lifespan than a component failure.

However there are a number of fiddly electromechanical assemblies in a camcorder that would provide a case for making an exception versus other consumer electronics (increased chance of problems from rough handling etc and potential to clock up long bench times to strip and rebuild). Ive never regarded them sufficient to take up the option personally but i can see where folks are coming from who do.

[Pete Bauer]

Looks like AAA members have a special deal, which is great for them...but please remember that on DVinfo it is policy to only refer to sponsors of this web site, who are handpicked because they provide exceptional overall value.

[Jason Brown]

Hey Adam, could you email me the link of the website that has the AAA discount? im a memeber and that would really help out.

Thanks
xfan10+aaa@gmail.com

[Adam Perry]

i sent it. let me know if it works.